Schnauzer
Pretty Sure You are Wrong
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2009
- Messages
- 7,085
- Reaction score
- 4,675
- Points
- 113
For a team at the Gopher's talent level, beating Ohio State is certainly unlikely, but not impossible. My anger level increases when coaches (or even fans) act like it is impossible. I realize that fans don't have a direct impact on the game but I have already seen one suggestion that the Gophers should just wait until after OSU to play DT if he is currently healthy. Ugh! Not my style.
For much of the recent history (including the games under Fleck, with one big exception), the Gophers have been quite competitive with Ohio State and have had at least one horrific reffing call or reversal factor into keeping the games from being even more competitive or even a win.
2014 24-31 - One of the two home losses in the history of our current stadium that I still remember fondly. Dilly Bar Dan, swirling snow storm, very cold, and Urban Meyer literally obviously flustered (he still brings up that game just about any time he talks about OSU vs MN). Loved the Gopher's attitude and effort that game. Not unthinkable to to consider the potential shift in college football history if the Gophers had pulled out the win that day.
2015 14-28 - Night game at OSU. Gophers got ABSOLUTELY screwed by one of the worst reffing reversals you will ever see. OSU player launches crown-first into the face of Mitch Leidner's facemask on a play that resulted in a pick-6. The play was called correctly as targeting on the field but was REVERSED in the booth on a review - wiping the targeting call off the board and preserving the OSU touchdown in the process. Would the Gophers have won if that play had been called correctly? Perhaps unlikely but we'll never know. It was a very competitive game regardless.
2018 14-30 - Day game at OSU. A couple MORE super questionable ref calls, particularly one with a terrible spot that preserved an OSU first down and allowed a drive to continue (that ended in a TD). Probably less likely to have been a win than the targeting reversal game, but again competitive and one of the early signs that Fleck may have had something building for 2019.
2021 31-45 - The Thursday night opener for 2021. Such a downer to lose Mo Ibrahim under any circumstances, but particularly gut-wrenching to lose him on a night when he had been so dominant, and to an injury as serious as an Achilles. The OSU reffing posse showed up again late, wiping out another targeting call that would have made quite a difference. Again, perhaps not likely a win - but all chances of a win were wiped away with that call.
2023 3-37 - This is the game that really continues to bother me. This was at the height of the Fleck conservative era and there were multiple situations where it looked to me like he was making decisions aimed at making the game "look" better, NOT actually trying to win it. No reffing controversy required with this one. Gopher coaching decisions removed all drama. One of the few Gopher games in my memory where I turned my TV tuner away from the game in disgust, before the game was over.
OSU is really good. Best defense I have seen in a long time. Certainly possible we could be looking at a deflating blow out this Saturday. I just hope we get a cleanly officiated game and a Gopher effort that rivals what we have seen in 4 of the last 5 meetings with Ohio State. If we see the kind of effort we saw in 4 of the last 5 games AND we get a couple calls to go our way, the winning percentages perhaps rise to 40% and I'd love to roll the dice at that point. Teams like the Gophers just can't likely overcome some of the bad calls they have seen vs teams like OSU and Michigan (onside kick offsides, anyone?).
For much of the recent history (including the games under Fleck, with one big exception), the Gophers have been quite competitive with Ohio State and have had at least one horrific reffing call or reversal factor into keeping the games from being even more competitive or even a win.
2014 24-31 - One of the two home losses in the history of our current stadium that I still remember fondly. Dilly Bar Dan, swirling snow storm, very cold, and Urban Meyer literally obviously flustered (he still brings up that game just about any time he talks about OSU vs MN). Loved the Gopher's attitude and effort that game. Not unthinkable to to consider the potential shift in college football history if the Gophers had pulled out the win that day.
2015 14-28 - Night game at OSU. Gophers got ABSOLUTELY screwed by one of the worst reffing reversals you will ever see. OSU player launches crown-first into the face of Mitch Leidner's facemask on a play that resulted in a pick-6. The play was called correctly as targeting on the field but was REVERSED in the booth on a review - wiping the targeting call off the board and preserving the OSU touchdown in the process. Would the Gophers have won if that play had been called correctly? Perhaps unlikely but we'll never know. It was a very competitive game regardless.
2018 14-30 - Day game at OSU. A couple MORE super questionable ref calls, particularly one with a terrible spot that preserved an OSU first down and allowed a drive to continue (that ended in a TD). Probably less likely to have been a win than the targeting reversal game, but again competitive and one of the early signs that Fleck may have had something building for 2019.
2021 31-45 - The Thursday night opener for 2021. Such a downer to lose Mo Ibrahim under any circumstances, but particularly gut-wrenching to lose him on a night when he had been so dominant, and to an injury as serious as an Achilles. The OSU reffing posse showed up again late, wiping out another targeting call that would have made quite a difference. Again, perhaps not likely a win - but all chances of a win were wiped away with that call.
2023 3-37 - This is the game that really continues to bother me. This was at the height of the Fleck conservative era and there were multiple situations where it looked to me like he was making decisions aimed at making the game "look" better, NOT actually trying to win it. No reffing controversy required with this one. Gopher coaching decisions removed all drama. One of the few Gopher games in my memory where I turned my TV tuner away from the game in disgust, before the game was over.
OSU is really good. Best defense I have seen in a long time. Certainly possible we could be looking at a deflating blow out this Saturday. I just hope we get a cleanly officiated game and a Gopher effort that rivals what we have seen in 4 of the last 5 meetings with Ohio State. If we see the kind of effort we saw in 4 of the last 5 games AND we get a couple calls to go our way, the winning percentages perhaps rise to 40% and I'd love to roll the dice at that point. Teams like the Gophers just can't likely overcome some of the bad calls they have seen vs teams like OSU and Michigan (onside kick offsides, anyone?).
